Worksheet for creating a tabletop exercise

							                          Minnesota Department of Health
                       Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise:
               K-12 School Closure as a Disease Containment Measure


Date:             Monday, January 29, 2007

Time:             9:00 AM to 3:15 PM

Location:         Minnesota Department of Health
                  Snelling Office Park Complex – Mississippi Room
                  1645 Energy Park Drive
                  St. Paul, MN 55108


Invitees
   Local public health agencies from Carlton, Carver, Dakota, Douglas and Olmsted Counties.
   Local emergency management from Carlton, Carver, Dakota, Douglas and Olmsted
    Counties.
   Local elected officials from Carlton, Carver, Dakota, Douglas and Olmsted Counties.
   American Red Cross representatives from Carlton, Carver, Dakota, Douglas and Olmsted
    Counties.
   Education representatives from Carlton, Carver, Dakota, Douglas and Olmsted Counties.
    Including:
            A School Board representative
            A School Superintendent representative
            A School Principal representative
            A School Nurse representative
            A Food and Nutrition Program representative
            A Transportation Services representative
            A Teacher Association representative
            A Parent Association representative
            A Non-public School representative
   State level agency and association representation.


Purpose/Goals of the Exercise
This tabletop exercise is intended to:
   Provide key local decision makers and community leaders with a forum for exchanging
    information about policy issues pertaining to the closure of K-12 level schools in the State of
    Minnesota as a possible pandemic influenza containment measure;
   Facilitate planning at the local level and assess the impact of school closures as a potential
    means to counter a pandemic influenza outbreak; and
   Provide valuable feedback for policy formulation at all levels of government.




                                                         Page 1 of 2
    Questions? Concerns? Contact: Emily Litt, MDH Pandemic Influenza Coordinator, 651-201-5556 or Emily.litt@health.state.mn.us
                          Minnesota Department of Health
                       Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise:
               K-12 School Closure as a Disease Containment Measure

Objectives
   Provide an opportunity for state and local decision makers to formulate community
    containment preparedness policy.
   Raise awareness of the impact of school closings as a potential means to counter pandemic
    influenza.
   Increase the understanding of the responsibilities of all participating agencies.
   Determine the adequacy of current resources and plans to address school closings.
   Identify gaps in coordination among agencies.
   Promote continued planning and refinement of current plans.
   Promote the understanding of inter-related decisions and concomitant results.


Exercise Format
The exercise will last approximately six hours. Four tabletop exercises will be conducted
simultaneously to represent four designated target areas identified by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC):
   Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) – Represented by Dakota County
   Urban – Represented by Olmsted County
   Suburban – Represented by Carver County
   Rural – Represented by Carlton County


Exercise participants who have been invited to represent these areas will be seated at their
appropriate tables. Also seated at each table will be a discussion facilitator and a recorder.
A fifth table will be composed of content experts and state representatives/resources.
The exercise moderator will lead the overall direction of the exercise and script presentation.
There will be three scripts based on three fictional video broadcasts with approximately 60
minutes for each discussion. Each exercise script provides a scenario initiated by a fictional
video news cast and narrative.
Each facilitator will guide the discussion around the topics listed under each script in the players’
handbook through a series of questions. The recorders will log additional issues or concerns
raised and points made during the discussion. If questions are raised that would need to be
asked of another agency (local, state, or federal) they will be directed to the state resource table
or will be written down to be addressed in the future.
The evaluators will focus on whether the objectives of the exercise were achieved during the
course of the discussions.
At the end of the three videos and discussions, a large group summary and hotwash will be
held.

                                                         Page 2 of 2
    Questions? Concerns? Contact: Emily Litt, MDH Pandemic Influenza Coordinator, 651-201-5556 or Emily.litt@health.state.mn.us